
6op^gfilbu^7i0^rnmeKr 
1913 



&& SPECMUlYPHOKfflAPHCQ. 
'Dayton. 06lo. 






v. 






un 

©CU34 7048 



Jlijotograpijic Contemplation of 0m of JJature'S 

Cataclysms 



With Respect To An Inland City, The Deluge at Dayton, 
March 25, 19U, Was The Greatest Since The Days of Noah. 




wrought and 



N March 'J. - ,, Dayton, strong and buoyanl in its more than a century's growth; hope- 
ful and planning in the bright sunshine of past achievements and industrial pos- 
sibilities; righteous and profane in accordance with the temperament of its 
cosmopolitan population, was unmade. Flood and fire, undreamed of and appall- 
ing, bore its beauty to the mire, dashed present hopes to the depths of stunning 
loss, and made its population objects of the same kind of pity and abundant chari- 
ty which had touched the quick of its human soul so many times when its 
business, church, fraternal and commercial kin in other places suffered. In one 
short week Dayton was unmade and born again. Her rippling Miami, unhar- 
nessed and rebellious, wrought the destruction and now the placid, yet still 
murky stream, sighs a mellow and eternal requiem over the havoc she 

chimes entrance to Paradise of the hundred souls site claimed. Forty- 



seven years ago the stream went on a similar rampage, and fifteen years ago water flowed through the 
streets of Dayton; but not since L789 to 1792, when the troublesome Miami Indians gave cunning, 
daring and relentless warfare to early settlers, has then' been such desolation and despair upon her 
classic banks. Major Benjamin Stiles, Major John Stiles dans and Judge William Goforth negoti- 
ated for the strip of territory lying between the Miami and Mad rivers on June 13, 1789, and they 
called the site Venice. Yet only once during half a century has the community ever taken on the 



appearance of ;i Venice, with boats and rafts and barges floating in her streets. Major stilus once 
wrote: "What can give its currenl such velocity in the midst of so level a country is a matter of 
astonishment to all who behold it," Writers of to-day voice the same sentiment — nor do they at- 
tempt to explain the phenomenon of the deluge. The rain appeared to be only normal, yet the flood 
was abnormal. Hut there remained in the embattered hulk of the Gem City that spark of virgin 
strength, determination and plan which will undoubtedly make it a real gem in the diadem of its 
country's municipalities. Although Dayton was well-nigh mortally wounded, yet she girded her 
tattered garments about her shivering and bleeding form and pitched into the battle of reconstruc- 
tion ami rehabilitation. The Gem City had to do it — there was no other course open, if she was to 
live. To-daj she has practically recovered from her wounds, and gains strength steadily. Through 
the kindly offices and gentle ministrations of sister cities and communities, she litis thrived on the 
charity nursing and stands erect and without a totter. The city has buried her toll of dead; 
through large forces she w'iped away the last vestige of her unpleasant battle with the elements; 
properly aided by State and National authorities, ami her own inherent desire, she safeguarded her 
health -until she stands a pillar of strength on the ashes of her past. It is probable that no citj 
on earth ever took such rapid snides as did Dayton, once her flood waters receded. The majesty 
of her enterprises lias asserted itself, and her citizenship has taken hold with a firm determination 
in retrieve the losses. Memories alone will retain the horrors of the occasion, and events of the 
future have been dated from March 25, 1913. What a short lime ago was a washed path of destruc- 
tion is to-day a hive of industry, just as before the fatal day. Wrecked businesses and sundered 
homes have been transformed into real commercial centers and havens of abode for a contented 
ami happy people. In the presenci of a great disaster the human mind is appalled, the human 
tongue is silent save in supplication for aid. and the human pen is often paralyzed. However, the 
Mood of l ;i l :; directly affected 93,000 persons, 20,000 homes and entailed a property loss of approxi- 
mately $200,1 ,000; Hie stretch of water was two miles wide, with a depth varying according to ele- 
vation and depression of land from I to 26 feet; while the lives of thousands were in jeopardy, and 
many answered the inexorable fiat of Nature. Emblazoned across the heavens tire the names of 
Innumerable ones whose deeds of heroism mark them as men and women of real character, who 
meet the full measure of (bid's own plan. So. to the memorj of the souls who passed through Death 
into Life Eternal amid the Hood, and to the service of their surviving kin and sorrowing neighbors, 
who cherish their memory while mourning their departure, in humble submission to the will of an 
All-Wise ami Inscrutable Providence, this booklet is dedicated. 

clarence ii. Greene. 




• . NORTh YTON 



A 





SIDE 




SIDE 




y LEHMAN ST.lWERDALE 








SHOWING 'HOW 'TRAVEL SWEETS WERE TORN 
AFTER WATER HAD RECEDED 




HAYES- ST RIVER DALE 




it: 
I 




WA'SHOUf of TRAOjtf at UNION 'DEPOT 




GERMANTOWN' STREET EAST from BROADWAY 









MAIN ST WVERDALE 

— - „ _ ^ 

^ PHOTO. 3YMAYFJELL 



VIEW OF FIRE ZONE 
LOOKING WEST FROM ST CLAIR 




DEBRIS at MORTOJV $ BROWN 




VIEW ON THIRD ST 




VIEW OH EAST MONUMENT A V£ 




.*t0,^2lL$>. 




SOUTH SUMMIT ST 




LOOKING EAST OH THIRD 



j^csm cTEEFERSOfrf 



LEHMAN ST, RIVERDALE 




FERTILIZIMQ PLANT 




y^Vvimil^BV 



REAR OF COOPER MEDICINE CO CANAUSX 

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a- 






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>* iftSKIj? 









VIEW IN EDGE MONT OR GBEEN CASTLE 










3rd ST EAST FROM MIAMI CITY 



CATHERINE ST. NORTH 

fioin FAIN GROUND 







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.. 






MAIN J3T. LOOKING SOUTH 



* 








BRQAHV&££_ &. ojT GERMAN-TOWN 



BR(J/mST NORTH 

J?om MORTON AW. 




BUINS of FIRE on 

ST CLAIR ST. 





3 re/ £T. LOOKING EAST from. BOULEVARD 



mk-~- 





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WEBSTER ST LOOKING NORTH FROM 2ND ST 



PALMER ST FROM MIAMI BLVD 




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RUINS qTFIRE from. 
rd §> eJEFFERSOlY 





SCENE AT WHITE CITY 



VIEW NORTH DAYTON FROM WEST END HERMAN ST BRTDGE 






^■..■_4*Qategw B f£ 



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TROY ST VSEST 



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THE OLD MULE CAR IN SERVICE AFTER FLOOD 

c - . -. .-TV.-'.. ' 



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TROY ST LOOKING EAST 



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MAIN ST. NORTH ftcm EMMETT 



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*P« %& '913 



LOOKING NORTH & QZB BRIDGE a-t FIFTH 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



P14 752 160 2 



